Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Quarter

I'm returning for my second stay at Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter this fall. Last time we stayed at the Polynesian - very expensive but the monorail is a nice convenience. Loved the atmosphere at the french quarter and it's the best bang for the buck. All counter meals at any place is the same - YUCK!

I would particularly recommend Port Orleans Riverside for families. We have visited from the UK for the last 4 years. Every year we say we will try somewhere else but we always end up here. After a hectic day at the parks, it is really nice to return to Riverside, take a dip, and relax.

With Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Quarter, everything is great. Service, resort, location and accommodation are all 10 out of 10. Wonderful! I would definitely recommend

I stayed here October 2007. The three previous visits I spent at All Stars resorts. The location is beautiful and we found the rooms comfortable, but, it was only my 17 year old daughter and myself on a girlie holiday. The first couple of days my daughter had a stomach bug and we didn't go anywhere, except when I went to get something to eat. It was a couple of minute walk to the main buildings for food, but, the surroundings were so gorgeous it didn't matter. The housekeeper that day didn't disturb us as I'd put a note on the door, but, left us plenty of towels and extra bed linen in case it was needed.

However, that is the only positive I can say about the housekeeping as my daughter threw up in the bathroom in the middle of the night and I cleaned it all up (or so I thought). Two days later I realised that the front of the toilet and the bath panel was still slightly splattered, I'd have thought they might have cleaned those areas as a matter of course. I do not think the rooms were vacuumed more than twice the whole fortnight we were there and did not seem to be dusted regularly. Nor was the top quilt which had vomit on it replaced when I took it off the bed and left the housekeeper a note explaining why it needed replacing, the quilt was taken, but, a replacement was not put on for the 12 days we were there. I feel that I shouldn't have to call housekeeping to ask them to do this. Apart from the poor housekeeping (which resulted in no tip, ask the excellent housekeeping staff at All Stars Music and Movies, I tip generously for good service) the stay was excellent, it was a very short bus trip to all parks and the buses were never crowded unlike the All Stars buses, the boat to Downtown Disney was delightful, but, don't expect to get there in a hurry and the food in the foodcourt was pretty good too although the choice at the All Stars was better for breakfast.

We're planning a return trip to POR for December as there were a lot of plus points, however, I think the housekeeping management need to improve the quality of the housekeeping there, although I will take the advice of someone else who went there and leave a small tip for the housekeeper everyday, instead of my usual habit of leaving a good tip at the end of the holiday as they said it improved the standard of the housekeeping, even though it shouldn't really.

The front of house staff were good and a special mention to the guy who helped us with our bags from our room to the lobby on our last day, he was polite, friendly and helpful, full marks to him. As a Brit who has spent time in hotels both here, in Europe and the US, Disney aren't half bad, particularly compared to the British hotels, both in room size and staff. I recently stayed at a hotel near Alton Towers that had no hairdryer, not enough pillows in the room and none to be found elsewhere and no remote for the TV, although they found one eventually that had no batteries in it so I had to put my own in and this was a large chain.

We have just spent 2 glorious weeks at Port Orleans Riverside in Florida, and I must say that I was a little concerned after reading some of the reports on various websites, but my fears were unfounded. This place is absolutely beautiful!! We were in Magnolia Terrace 8778 (nicer than Alligator Bayou). The resort is very peaceful, but very Disney at the same time. It's very well themed and just perfect for a good family base. You must buy the refillable cups which are $11.95, and you can fill them up as many times as you like during your stay at POR or POFQ; that includes all cold and hot drinks alike! You will save a fortune.

The only negative point I would have to make is the organisation of the food hall - it is terrible. There are basically 4 separate counters that all serve different types of foods. You queue to order and receive your food, and then queue again to pay for it. Which is all well and good until you realise that by the time you have queued at one counter for on average 20 minutes (not an exaggeration) and then paid for it (another wait) you then have to do the same again if all in your party don't want to eat something from the same counter! In the end I just used to have whatever the children wanted to save queueing twice - not ideal, and it needs looking at.

The staff in the food hall were quite surly too, with the exception of the bakery, as they were always friendly.

Overall, I would go back tomorrow in a heartbeat. It was a fantastic holiday! Don't let any negative comments put you off or worry you, as you will love it. You really can't fail to. Resort 10/10!!!!!!

We absolutely loved our stay at the Port Orleans Riverside Resort. It was by far one of the best hotels we have stayed in. Everyone was courteous, kind and very helpful. Whenever we asked for anything, it was found for us. I would recommend this resort to everyone and we will definitely stay there for our next visit to Disney.

I have visited this resort twice in the past and it is definitely a favourite. I think that if you haven't been to America before then the rooms can appear to be small but it is fairly standard for all the rooms you get in Florida unless you are staying in a suite. The transport is excellent. Even if you don't have a car you can get to other theme parks by booking excursions with your travel rep. The grounds are lovely and the bar is very good after a long day at the theme parks - it is one of the few that actually have any entertainment.

(2001) 2 years ago we went to Florida for the second time (we are going again in 2004). We arrived in Orlando airport and spent about an hour searching for the hotel, Dixie Landings Resort. After asking someone working the barrier for the Disney Institute, we discovered that the name had been changed to Port Orleans. We all thought it was unacceptable not to be told the new name of our hotel, causing much inconvinience.

When we tried to check into our hotel, there was a problem with their computers and they couldn't find our booking.

At last we got to our room, an it was gone midnight and we were suffering for jetlag. We had a swimming pool on our doorstep, which was great, although there were screaming kids swimming with no consideration for all the guests trying to get some sleep.

The grounds, however, were beautiful. There were pretty plants and trees, all giving off subtle smells.

Unfortunatly, this didn't account for the room. My parents had paid a lot of money for the hotel because it was near Disney (duh) and it certainly wasn't what we expected it to be. It had two good sized beds, and it was all quite new and clean. There wasn't that much space though. There was a TV and two sinks. The 'wardrobe' was a sort of indent in the wall with a rail though it. There was hardly any other storage space...NOT good for a family of 4's belongings for 2 weeks. For the money my parents were paying, we were expecting a hair dryer, coffee/tea machine and a lot more space. We were a 10/15 minutes jog from the reception area.

The second night we ate at one of the restaurants. There were 8 of us (we had gone with friends) and 4 of us were children. We had one course each and 2 of us had desert. It cost $230.

The other restaurant was just like a cafeteria. You went along with your tray and chose which food you wanted. My Dad once wanted 2 beers. They said they 'weren't allowed to sell him 2 beers at once' for some absurb reason. He had to buy one, go back and buy another!

On the plus side, there are car parks everywhere so you don't have to walk miles to get to your vehicle, and the shuttle buses were regular and took you all over Disney. The staff were very helpful and friendly and I think if the reception was more central and they had spent more on the actual accommadation rather than the surroundings, then it would of been worthy of its 4 star rating. I would personally give it a 3 star, or 3.5 star if they're lucky. They may have improved it though!

In conclusion, the hotel was ok, but hardly worth the hundreds of pounds we spent on it. My advice to you is to stay at a hotel in Central Orlando...International Drive is a great idea! :) If you want to stay at Disney, my friends have told my the Carribean Beach Resort (we actually wanted to go there but it was totally booked up) and the Disney Swan And Dolphin Resort apparently lives up to its 5 star rating if you're willing to spend A LOT on accommadation. :)

Hope this helps!